Riyadh foils terror plot to disrupt UAE-Saudi football match

By

AP

PublishedMonday, October 31, 2016

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it broke up two militant plots in recent weeks, one with Daesh militants trying to kill police officers and the second involving parking a car bomb at a soccer match with the UAE.

The two disrupted plots announced by the Interior Ministry, with eight arrests made in its wake.

The first plot aimed to kill police officers by a group in Saudi Arabia's central Shaqraa province, the country's Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

It said four Saudis who received instructions from a Daesh leader in Syria were arrested before they could carry out the plan.

The second plot involved a group of militants who hoped to plant a car bomb at the soccer match between Saudi Arabia and the UAE at a stadium in Jiddah.

It said two Pakistanis, a Syrian and a Sudanese national were arrested October 10, the day before a FIFA fixture between the two sides was to be played.

Separately, the Interior Ministry identified eight Saudis and one Bahraini it wanted for attacks on security forces and sabotage in the kingdom's east.